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Vintage Radio (domestic) Domestic vintage radio (wireless) receivers only. |
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27th Dec 2019, 8:35 pm | #1 |
Retired Dormant Member
Join Date: Dec 2019
Location: Bristol, UK.
Posts: 2
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Ferguson Radiogram 387RG Favourite II
Hi All,
This is my first post here. I found the forum while I was looking for information about my Grandad's radiogram which I inherited from him a few years ago. I've read all the posts I could find which reference this model and the stickies on this forum and I could do with some advice about if I should replace the capacitors (and if so which ones) which I understand is often needed on this kind of model. From reading Darren-UK's sticky on capacitor replacement I thought that the capacitors in my device don't seem to be the waxed paper kind, but there are some Hunts Mouldseal ones and some that look like the small tubular ones. Please could anyone confirm this and whether I need to replace them? Before I read up on all this I did briefly power up the set and could get AM radio fine, but no FM. I also thought you might find some photos useful and interesting. I have managed to find "Trader" Service Sheet 1299 from 4th May 1957 which has circuit diagrams and covers the similar 385RG amongst others. If you can tell me the capacitors from that which need replacing I can work out which ones they are on my device. Thanks for any help you can give me. Angus |
27th Dec 2019, 10:45 pm | #2 |
Heptode
Join Date: Sep 2007
Location: Brentwood, Essex, UK.
Posts: 687
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Re: Ferguson Radiogram 387RG Favourite II
Hello Angus,
I don't have a diagram but the only ones from the pictures which would be worth changing as being likely to be faulty are those few Hunts Mouldseals and the Plessey Electrolytic one with the red/black ends. If after that there is no FM, personally I would try swapping the ECC85 Valve. Steve. |
27th Dec 2019, 10:57 pm | #3 |
Moderator
Join Date: Jun 2003
Location: Oxford, UK
Posts: 27,787
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Re: Ferguson Radiogram 387RG Favourite II
The components that have stripes on them but that are not resistors are ceramic capacitors. Manufacturers started to switch from waxies to ceramics in the late 50s and used them until cheap plastic film types became available about 5 years later. Ceramics don't fail very often and don't need changing in the absence of a fault.
The Mouldseals are likely to be bad. Have you cleaned the wavechange switch carefully? Many AM/FM valve sets spent their working lives tuned to the Home Service or Light Programme on AM, and the FM contacts oxidised badly. What aerial are you using for FM? |
28th Dec 2019, 5:01 pm | #4 | ||
Retired Dormant Member
Join Date: Dec 2019
Location: Bristol, UK.
Posts: 2
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Re: Ferguson Radiogram 387RG Favourite II
Quote:
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28th Dec 2019, 9:03 pm | #5 |
Tetrode
Join Date: Nov 2018
Location: Serzedo, Portugal.
Posts: 83
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Re: Ferguson Radiogram 387RG Favourite II
be extra carefull with the soldering iron around the transparent polistyrene capacitors...if you melt them or heat them even slghtly its and instant short..i see two of those on the first pic...they never fail if left alone.
like others have said replace the hunts caps and that nasty plessey electrolitic then i advise to swap the ecc85 and clean the switching if the fm is dead
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29th Dec 2019, 4:04 am | #6 | |
Dekatron
Join Date: Jun 2015
Location: Biggin Hill, London, UK.
Posts: 5,190
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Re: Ferguson Radiogram 387RG Favourite II
Quote:
So yes, they are generally reliable and not 'change on sight' but they can fail. |
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29th Dec 2019, 9:46 am | #7 |
Rest in Peace
Join Date: Mar 2006
Location: N.W. Oxfordshire(Chipping Norton)
Posts: 7,306
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Re: Ferguson Radiogram 387RG Favourite II
I, too, know that polystyrene capacitors can occasionally fail. Back in the early 70s a range of Radiomobile Car Radios used a Colpitts Oscillator circuit featuring two polystyrene caps (4700pf & 1100pf, IIRC) Sometimes one of these would do a good impression of a resistor!
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